The interior or passenger compartment of today's motor vehicles is effectively sealed from the outside atmosphere in order to allow for more efficient cooling, heating and air conditioning performance. As a result, when a door on such a motor vehicle is closed, there can be a momentary increase in the air pressure in the passenger compartment often resulting in an undesirable increase in the force or effort required to close the door.
It is also known in the art to equip motor vehicles with air extractors to equalize air pressure between the passenger compartment and the outside atmosphere when a door is closed to overcome this problem. Such an air extractor system incorporating a powered diaphragm is disclosed in, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0095738, assigned to Ford Global Technologies, LLC.
More recently, large “open sky” moon roof systems are being offered on certain motor vehicles. It has been found that the moon roof panel of such a system may deflect downward when a motor vehicle door is opened and a vacuum-effect is created in the passenger compartment or cabin of the motor vehicle. Significantly, to date state of the art air extractor systems have not been adapted or configured to address this issue.
This document relates to a new and improved air extraction system for a motor vehicle adapted or configured to mitigate the vacuum-effect otherwise created in a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle when a closure of the motor vehicle is opened. Advantageously, such a device also mitigates in-cabin pressure throb/Helmholtz resonance when a single closure of the motor vehicle, such as a window or moon roof is opened. Accordingly, the air extraction system, and related method disclosed herein represent a significant advance in the art.